Workout of the Day

Oct 11

The Hacking Myth

The idea of hacking your body is a funny one. It’s become something of an overused buzzword meant to get clicks, follows, and views, but it promotes a mentality that’s unproductive and misleading. Hacking implies some sort of extra-physiological effect -- a rewriting, as it were, of the code of your body or mind. And while many of the actual “hacks” are in fact productive and effective means for change, they are not actually hacks. Morning meditation to reduce stress is not a hack. Intermittent fasting is not a hack. Task organization is not a hack. Interval training is not a hack. Dietary manipulation is not a hack. All of these are stimuli which yield an adaptation. That is the system we work within, and there is no changing or hacking that. It’s entirely possible to apply all of these so-called “hacks” to your life and reap incredible benefits, but the fact that they are being approached as a hack suggests a mindset that is looking for the shortcut and trying to avoid the reality of the system.

Perhaps science fiction will get us to a true “hack” some day, and we can deal with crossing that bridge when we come to it. For now, though, let’s stop trying to hack everything, and instead apply ourselves to making real change.